Tokyo: getting used to it

We finally arrived at our Airbnb after a trying flight. We had barely slept for 4 hours before the 16-hour flight because we had been busy packing and cleaning the house. The day before that we were partying at Chaerin’s.

The immigration process was speedy enough, and we eventually caught a taxi to get to our Airbnb in Akagishitamachi which was 90 minutes from Narita Airport. I was so relieved to finally be done with traveling. But then Mike suddenly realized that he couldn’t find his laptop bag (which had his laptop and our home keys). Our nerves frayed, we spent the next day or two talking to airport officials, going back to the airport, filing a complaint at the local police station etc., but no one has found it yet, despite their extensive lost-and-found network.

Getting used to Japan has been a slow process, and it is an ongoing process. First, there is the apartment itself—the tight space, the Toto toilet, the extensive instructions for sorting recyclables, the Japanese text on all the appliances etc. Then there is the language—I don’t speak Japanese and I am entirely relying on Mike’s ability to communicate basic stuff (he has been teaching himself basic Japanese for the past 5-6 months), but that is also usually not enough. Sometimes we get by on their English. There is also generally a great sense of restraint—be it how tightly they manage the space within a house, how quiet the streets and the subways are even when people are going about or how clean and tidy everything is, including people's appearance—clear skin, straight hair, slim bodies with concave stomachs, neat but understated clothing, their aversion to scents or perfumes of any sort or how small the portion sizes are at the supermarket.

I have been taking it slow, so has Mike. In terms of exploration, I think convenience stores and supermarkets were really my starting point. They are everywhere, especially the convenience stores, dominated by Family Mart and 7-11. They have steaming pork buns, onigiri, lots of reasonably healthy, tasty options for a quick meal. There is a Maruetsu supermarket, an 8-minute walk away from us. We stop by once, sometimes twice a day there to pick up food. It is easy to eat healthy here. I snack on a good bit of fish—mostly 3 oz cuts of cooked salmon that they sell at these places for two or three dollars. Sushi is cheap and of good quality. It makes one realize how expensive food is in the US, compared to the rest of the developed world even—it was the case when we visited UK as well. It is also a shame that US went for the buy in bulk model. Its not saving us, the consumer, any money, and the supersize portions are not doing any favors health-wise either.

Also, it’s not just their own food which is of better quality here. Last day, we went to McDonalds, and the burger meat and more noticeably the meat of the chicken nuggets was so much better than any other McDonald’s we have been at —juicier, more tender, and none of that odd taste that processed food so often has. The fries, however, were also dangerously tastier, by virtue of being thinner and crispier.

I have also been experimenting with some of the ingredients that I found in the supermarket. I cooked a packet of pre-marinated beef with their very thinly shredded slaw mix. Then there was a combo of kimchi, seaweed and sprouts that I cooked with eggs and that tasted great too.

Walking about wise, initially we stayed kind of local (there is also the added nuisance of having to carry our passports around where ever we go). There is nothing pretty about Tokyo, but the streets are nice. They feel like a maze and you can zig zag all through it and get lost. One day, we came across a small shrine that had two dog statues wearing red bibs on either side of its “entrance”, looking like they were ready to make a meal of any who dared enter. There is also a Buddhist temple right next to the Airbnb, which we wouldn’t have come across unless we walked through the labyrinth. Beauty is very much in the details here.

If we access the main street, then we have all the shops, and that has a different vibe—it is slightly more tourist-centered. We had sushi at a restaurant one day, and I tried some new things including omelet sushi (surprisingly good) and sea urchin sushi (awful). Some of the sushi pieces (a tuna one, I remember) were torched, and that made it taste a lot better. But there are also shops (not restaurants) that specialize in certain foods, and yesterday, we picked up some sushi from one such place and brought it home to eat—you could once again feel the quality. Mike got a deep-fried scotch egg and potato korokkes/croquettes (korokke is one type of frying in Japan, other familiar ones include Katsu and Tempura, but there are others). Again, I don’t know how a fried item could feel so fresh and un-oily, but there you have it. We also stopped by a store called Akomeya which is housed in a rather modern building. It’s one of those stores where you have an assortment of random, new-fangled goods, but in their case, it is mostly all rice-related. I got a bag of gummies made from real strawberries and Mike got some crackers and a red bean-based dessert. He hasn’t tested them out yet, and when he does, I don’t see it going well, but I applaud his experimentation.

We did venture out further in the last couple of days. The train network is really well-developed. Basically, you can get to any part of Tokyo from any station you want. Our station is the Kagurazaka station and we took the train to a couple of different places—we checked out the park by the Imperial Palace, where they have many Japanese black pine trees; the palace itself sits on a hilltop surrounded by an extensive moat. We went to the university area, and even roamed around campus. We could see that the kids were up to their usual shenanigans with protest posters, evening lectures and late-night library sessions. The Family Marts by them looked more attractive and were well-stocked, probably because college students rely on convenience store food a lot more than other adults. Along the way, we discovered a beautiful temple, gently lit up at night, the red roofs glowing. Also, for the first time, I saw someone not only pick up after their dog pooped, but also wipe the dog’s rear end, after the deed was done. Elsewhere, I saw a woman who sprayed water from a bottle to wash any remaining shit off the pavement after picking up her dog’s poop. Once again, such attention to detail.

I haven’t seen too many cats about, but I have seen quite a few dogs about. They are always pedigreed (none of that mongrel business here, I am afraid), mostly Shiba Inus (adorable), but also some dachshunds, some Yorkshire terriers or maybe Papillons (bleh). I saw one black Labrador being fussed over, but I have to say Japan is a terrible place for a dog of Lab’s temperament. Labs are not about restraint, though this one seemed to be.

We went to some of the shopping areas too. One was a high-end shopping district (Omotesando/the area by Harajuku station) where we checked out one of these urban-retro-pop culture kinda stores called Niko &…, some vintage second-hand clothing stores and a Japanese beauty/makeup store. I wanted to experiment with some of their creams and whatnot, but most of the products only had Japanese on them. Finally, I found a few face masks, with product information in English, so I bought those. Then yesterday night, we went to the iconic, much photographed Shibuya crossing. It is probably as busy a spot as I have seen in Tokyo so far and had plenty of tourists, it reminds one very much of Times Square.

Tokyo is a good place to turn inwards and tap into your own energies. Partly, because I am trying to escape this oddly suffocating feeling, stemming from the cramped space that Mike and I are sharing and because I feel like I need to mind myself constantly when I am in this restrained world.

Some mornings, I sit down to practice watercolors. Yesterday, I did a bit of yoga on my own and I have finished the book I was reading. I even sat down with work a bit. That said, I am not sure how long this is going to be the tone of this trip. For one thing, we are currently on a ‘fall asleep at 10 and wake up a 6’ schedule, which is unusual for us, but it affects the pattern of my day. There is nothing for you to do, but turn inwards, when you wake up that early.